Franchising

Dairy Queen to open 600 restaurants in China by 2030

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March 11, 2022

International Dairy Queen Corp. and FountainVest Partners, a private equity firm, will open 600 Dairy Queen restaurants in China by 2030.

The franchise development agreement, spearheaded by the FountainVest-acquired franchise ownership company CFB Group, expands the brand's stronghold in China. FountainVest and CFB Group will begin the expansion by opening 100 DQ restaurants in 2022.

"China remains an important growth market to us, and this expansion with FountainVest provides the opportunity to widen our footprint in one of the fastest-growing countries for QSR," Jean Champagne, COO, international, International Dairy Queen, said in the release. "The continued success of our investment in China, which includes several unique-to-China food and treat offerings, showcases the strength of the DQ brand to fans throughout the country."

FountainVest recently acquired CFB Group, a franchise ownership group in mainland China with more than 900 DQ restaurants.

"The market for frozen treats is booming in China and we predict the industry will continue a rapid growth trajectory during the next ten years," Andrew Huang, managing director at FountainVest Partners, said in the release. "FountainVest is committed to fully supporting CFB Group's growth of both its existing DQ restaurants and opening 600 new DQ restaurants by 2030."

There are currently more than 1,100 DQ restaurants in China.